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No cellphone


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quote:
As I was lying there, it suddenly occurred to me that, if I had had a heart attack, I would probably just die and, by the time anyone realized something was wrong, it'd be too late to resuscitate me...Voodoo Zombification excepted.


 

I think that about my about to be 80 year old mother-in-law who lives alone. But her pride refuses to admit that could happen to her.

 

Hmmm. Aren't we a bit like that too?

 

"Man found dead in woods next to an ammo box clutching a McToy. These unusual circumstances have authorities investigating for foul play - speculation some strange cult has moved into the area."

 

Alan

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I volunteer for the CDF Mtn Bike Unit. We do not go out alone. If someone needs help and radio/phone communication is impossible, one stays and one goes for help.

Additionally, CPR is pretty much useless unless help is on the way. Carrying a GPSr and no communication device seems awfully hypocritical and irresponsible.

 

"A good compromise leaves everybody mad." - Calvin

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quote:
Originally posted by CYBret:

I've got 2 kids and a pregnant wife and a few other people who also depend on me for one thing or another. For their sake I carry a cellphone at all times.

 

For my sake I don't always answer it.

 

Bret

 


 

I'm with Bret on this one. As a small restaurant owner my staff need to be able to reach me if we are open for business and I am not there. That is the only reason I own a cell phone, and there are days, or parts of days when I can get out and search for buried treasure and leave them alone to take care of business.Since I usually go out alone it seems silly and unresponsible to not bring it along; but I do not have to drop my pack and answer on the first ring.

 

Much to my wife's consternation I do not keep the electrical umbilical cord on 24/7, and usually shut it off after we are closed for the day.

 

Be careful what you wish for!

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I usually have the cell in my pack somewhere but it stays there (off) untill i get back to the car. I think the only time i would use it is to call for help...I never had one as a child out hiking and i have plenty of survival skills but hey its a newer item that can be a real big help even just to notfy someone ure lost and spending the night in the woods.....

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In reading Jamies posts it really doesn't seem like the acomplishment. To climb a cliff and reach the top is an accomplishment weather or not you do it with a safety rope. It seems the element that is being added is the do or die the adrenalin knowing 'you are in danger' and if you fail something bad can happen.

 

The 4000 year old caveman with straws in his shoes would love to have had wool socks or Thinsulate and I Don't think he'd argue the point. For him it was an every day thing. For Jamie maybe it's just a vacation from all the stress. There is stress involved in keeping track of your GPS, PDA, Cell Phone, Car's Gas level and everything else we track.

 

That's why spending time at someone elses house in their back yard drinking their beer in their hammock is so dadgum relaxing. They carry your worries for a few days and you get to unwind.

 

Enough rambling. I've dragged this thread all over the place.

 

Wherever you go there you are.

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quote:
Originally posted by Renegade Knight:

In reading Jamies posts it really doesn't seem like the acomplishment. To climb a cliff and reach the top is an accomplishment weather or not you do it with a safety rope. It seems the element that is being added is the do or die the adrenalin knowing 'you are in danger' and if you fail something bad can happen.

 

The 4000 year old caveman with straws in his shoes would love to have had wool socks or Thinsulate and I Don't think he'd argue the point. For him it was an every day thing. For Jamie maybe it's just a vacation from all the stress. There is stress involved in keeping track of your GPS, PDA, Cell Phone, Car's Gas level and everything else we track.


Er, sort of.

 

After much thought, I think the origin of my desire to be without the "safety net" comes from my mother. She is the type that wants to do everything for me. After I moved out when I was 18, she would come visit, and bring groceries... and do my laundry and dishes while she was there, and other chores. I hated it.

 

Granted, I liked that the jobs were done, but she made me feel like I couldn't do the things on my own. The one time I messed up and couldn't pay my bills, I went to her looking for some advice. Instead, she paid all my bills. What did I get out of that? Nothing. I craved the feeling of getting myself out of a predicament that I put myself in.

 

That's what it comes down to--my desire to feel independent.

 

Jamie

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quote:
After much thought, I think the origin of my desire to be without the "safety net" comes from my mother. She is the type that wants to do everything for me. After I moved out when I was 18, she would come visit, and bring groceries... and do my laundry and dishes while she was there, and other chores. I hated it.

 


So Jamie, ever take your mom geocaching with you just for kicks? icon_razz.gif

 

Be careful what you wish for!

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quote:
Originally posted by wimseyguy:

So Jamie, ever take your mom geocaching with you just for kicks?


Gee, I hope I didn't come across as bashing my own mom...

 

No, I haven't taken her caching. I did show her my GPS, though. Hmmm.. I'm trying to picture if my mom would like caching. She does like to be outside and doing stuff, but I still think she'd think it was a bit silly. I don't think she'd be too interested in reading through or signing the logbook or logging online.

 

Jamie

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quote:
Gee, I hope I didn't come across as bashing my own mom...

 

No, I haven't taken her caching. I did show her my GPS, though. Hmmm.. I'm trying to picture if my mom would like caching. She does like to be outside and doing stuff, but I still think she'd think it was a bit silly. I don't think she'd be too interested in reading through or signing the logbook or logging online


No, you didn't, I just couldn't resist the dig. When you break all sports and activities down to their basic elements they seem a little silly. Take golf- hit a little ball with an expensive stick across some open space until you find a hole in the ground! I took my family out once; the neices and nephews got into the 'treasure hunt' and chance to trade an old toy for a new one. My dad enjoys the gadget part of the trek, and being outdoors. Mom and my sibs find caching silly. We all have our motivations for doing this. Mine is a goal at the end of the hike to get me outdoors, and enjoying the solitude and peace. Probably because I work in a noisy, public place.

 

Be careful what you wish for!

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I am all in favor of technology. However, I can not forsee myself willingly owning a cell phone because they seem to emit idiot waves and force their owners to use them while driving. Long ago I lost count of the times I was almost involved in a traffic accident because someone had their ear glued to one of those infernal machines. My survival is soley credited to the fact that I now automaticaly assume everyone out there is driving while on the phone and keep my defenses up. icon_mad.gif

 

Wow, I feel better now! Thanks for letting me rant. icon_smile.gif

 

"Could be worse...could be raining"

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I do accept that some people go to remote places without cell phone and other modern things. I used to do it personally while i was younger. It's a wonderful feeling, like being totally free, when your out there on your own. But nowadays, when i have a wife and 2 little boys, who are dependant on me, i would never take the risk, that they would not some day have a dad and a husband...

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The good thing about cell phones is that they turn off. I throw it in my backpack just in case. Those who like the thrill of going out in the wild without one will quickly change their tune when they are dying, unable to move with broken legs or lying under a fallen tree or any of the other myriad of things that could happen to you out there. Sure, you shouldn't rely on it as a way to save you, but you won't care if it sabes your life.

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I was out with the dogs in local woods one afternoon, no map, compass, GPS.. Dogs took off after rabbit. I took off after dogs. 30 minutes later had NO IDEA where I was.

Was not worried about dying of exposure, but as I'm military was rather worried about dying of embarrasment. Fortunatly, followed setting sun west to road, then road to car (mind you, it was a two hour hike through every pricker bush in SE Ontario).

Bottom line - GPS, Map, Compass and yes, cell phone are a good idea.

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"What do you do if something happens?" they'd ask.

 

My response? "We get ourselves out if it."

 

Years ago while at my cabin during an ice storm,I stepped outside to check things out.

one step out the door I was in for the ride of my life.everything,I mean everything was covered with at least 1/2 in.of ice.The cabin Bieng on the side of a hill left me only one way to go,staight down the hill,bouncing off everything in sight.I couldn't grab onto anyting to stop from sliding because every tree and bush and rock was coated with ice.

I wound up in the only place on that mountain that had no ice, beneth my truck parked about 100 yards below the cabin.

Guess what I had in the truck?

You guessed it,my cell phone.

With a broken ankle,ribs,smashed face it took me for ever to get in the truck using a screw driver driven into the ice to move only a few feet.

called for help,and was rescued by snowmobile.

was even able to direct the driver as to where I was located.

I find it iresponsible for anyone who owns a cell phone not to cary it in the wild because of some macho reasoning.Carry it! You don't have to leave it on.Carry it just as you would carry a first aid kit or a knife.

I used to think If I got into trouble "I could get out of it" Yea,Right.

Nuf said.

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The Way I see it is I pay for it why not carry it.Don't get me wrong, it's turned off I hate hearing the ring when i'm in the woods. My V/Mail message goes like this, Sorry I'm not answering the phone but I'm hiking right now, I'll call you back when I'm out of the woods...but i do bring it. what if i bust a leg 4 miles in the woods then i can at least call.. I know for hundreds of years people hiked with out them, but we live in a time where these things are available, why not use them.

 

See you in the woods!

Natureboy1376

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Every time I go I carry water, gps'r and cell phone. One other tip I can recommend is that I print out a copy of the caches that I am going to do for the day and leave them with my wife.

 

I got my foot caught in between two large rocks on a steep hill. It took me about 15-20 mins to get my swollen foot out by removing my shoe. A little scary. The day you think you are playing it safe is the day something will happen and make you think about taking precautions.

 

PS: It doesn't ruin the fun by having a Cell Phone and Letting others know where you are going.

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I'll bet that hiker in Utah who had to cut his own arm off with a pocketknife after being pinned under a boulder for 5 days was wishing he was reaching for a cellphone instead of a pocketknife.

 

He was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, a freak accident.

 

No need for flaming, thank you in advance. I realize there may not have been signal anyway where he was, but I live in the Rocky Mountains also and often I find I have signal in places that seem impossible. I was on a canoe trip on the Snake River near Jackson Hole 4 years ago with a buddy, hit a section of class 3 rapids I've been over many times before, the unthinkable happened.....we somehow got sideways mid-rapids, wrapped the canoe around a boulder.

I finally came ashore about a half mile downsteam, no idea where my friend was, didn't know if he were dead or alive even. I myself had a broken ankle.

 

Prior to launching I (as always) put my cell phone in a ziplock freezer bag, duct taped a shoestring in a loop around the bag and wore it around my neck under my life vest. I have been laughed at more times than I can count for this practice and today was no exception.

Now, I pulled out my "necklace" and lo and behold, three signal bars. We both survived this ordeal and still get together for outdoor adentures from time to time. Whenever that adventure happens to be rafting (John seems to have inexplicably developed a phobia about canoeing) the guy who one morning laughed at me is wearing his own home made cell phone necklace.

 

someday we'll look back on all this and plow into a parked car.

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